


Overprotective

by The_Clockwork_Monk



Series: Something Out of Someone Else's Life [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Awkward Conversations, Book 6: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Book 7: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Bromance, Brotp, Canon Compliant, During Canon, F/M, Family, Family Feels, Friendship, Gen, Getting Together, Male Friendship, Post-Canon, Post-War, Protective Siblings, but not what you think
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:34:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28056225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Clockwork_Monk/pseuds/The_Clockwork_Monk
Summary: Harry and Ginny have just gotten together, and Ron is being overprotective.But not at all in the way Harry expected.
Relationships: Harry Potter & Ron Weasley, Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley
Series: Something Out of Someone Else's Life [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1994494
Comments: 25
Kudos: 184





	1. Chapter 1

"We are now officially out after hours," whispered Harry, with the same grin he had sported all day still plastered to his face, "If we don't go in soon, we'll both get detention."

"Mmm, then I suppose you better say the password, if you've got the nerve," cooed Ginny as she kissed up his neck.

Harry closed his eyes and leaned further into her touch until they stumbled and leaned against the wall, laughing as they held each other.

"It was your idea to stay out this late, _you_ say it," Harry teased her, tucking a strand of red hair behind her ear. He was starting to get excited every time her hair got messed because it gave him a chance to fix it again.

"Please, for the love of all, _someone_ say the password!" the Fat Lady groaned, averting her eyes.

Harry and Ginny jerked apart and blushed, but never stopped smiling. They hadn't stopped smiling since they left dinner early to go "study" in the library. It was a Saturday, so there weren't many students, which made it easy to find a secluded corner where they could continue to become better acquainted with each other. Until, of course, Madam Pince discovered them and had nearly hexed them as she chased them out of her library. They had spent the rest of the evening finding empty classrooms until, tragically, their first day as a couple was coming to an end.

Harry wasn't too disappointed though, because now he got to experience their first _night_ as a couple. He'd go to bed as Ginny Weasley's boyfriend for the first time, then he'd get to wake up as Ginny Weasley's boyfriend for the first time. Everything Harry did seemed new and exciting, as if he were doing it for the first time.

After giving her the password, a very grateful Fat Lady swung open and they climbed through the portrait hole. They crossed the common room, hand in hand, and apparently they were still interesting to many people, as heads turned to watch them, particularly the lower-year girls who could not stop giggling. Even Seamus grinned and waggled his eyebrows at them, even as his best friend glared intensely down at their game of Exploding Snap. Harry couldn't bring himself to care about any of it.

They finally approached the fireplace on the other side of the common room and (for the first time as Ginny Weasley's boyfriend) he sat down on a squashy sofa with Hermione, who was still beaming like she had just gotten a question right in class. He expected Ginny to sit next to him on the middle cushion, but was pleasantly surprised when she instead sat sideways right in his lap, leaning against the armrest.

"Is that absolutely necessary?" asked Hermione, rolling her eyes, "You're going to annoy a lot more people than just Ron if you keep being that shameless."

"Hermione, I'm not as swotty as you, so sadly I don't have the vocabulary to truly express how much I do not care," said Ginny, wrapping her arms around Harry's neck defiantly. She looked around, "Where is my dear brother, anyway? Not being able to see him get all flustered takes half the fun out of this."

" _Half?_ " huffed Harry, raising his eyebrows at her.

"Well okay, I suppose it _might_ be less than half," she reassured him sweetly and kissed him again.

"Ron is already up in our dormitory," said Neville quickly, squirming uncomfortably in his armchair and proving Hermione's point. He seemed to want to keep them talking so they were too busy for other things. "He actually….I'm pretty sure he's waiting for you, Harry. I've got the feeling he wants to talk to you before Seamus, Dean, or I go to bed."

Ginny threw her head back and groaned dramatically. Harry's heart sank. Ron had seemed just mildly annoyed at dinner. After everything they had been through together, did he really still think that a threatening lecture was necessary to protect Ginny? The happiness Harry had been feeling all day finally started to slip away. He wondered if things would ever be normal again, or if his relationship with his first friend really had been changed forever.

"Hey, don't you start that!" Ginny chided him, having noticed the look on his face. "He's happy for us, and don't let him convince you otherwise. He just thinks that playing the 'protective big brother' is what he's _supposed_ to do, he's going through the motions."

Harry smiled weakly at her, reluctantly ( _very_ reluctantly) moved his girlfriend off of him, and stood up. Ginny took his hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

"Do _not_ pull your punches with him," she ordered him.

"Explain to him in no uncertain terms how ridiculous he's being, or I will," added Hermione.

Harry left them behind and started climbing the staircase to the boys dormitory, feeling a bit like he did going into his hearing at the Ministry. He opened the door and saw Ron sitting on his bed, fidgeting his fingers on his thigh. Harry drew a bit of comfort from the fact that Ron looked just as uncomfortable as Harry felt.

"Er — hey," said Ron, "You mind if I….talk to you for a second?" he gestured to Harry's own bed.

Harry decided to focus on his own irritation rather than his fear.

"Ron, can't we just skip this whole part?" said Harry tiredly, "You know, I can't help but take it personally that you think you have to—"

"Just five minutes, Harry," said Ron, raising his hands defensively, "Humor me, will you? Just let me be overprotective for five minutes, and then we can move on with our lives, okay?"

Harry sighed and sat down on his own bed. At least Ron was aware that everyone was just humoring him.

They just sat there in silence for several seconds. Harry raised his eyebrows expectantly. "Well….?"

Several times, Ron opened his mouth as if to speak, then closed it again. He finally got up himself and started pacing back and forth.

"Look Harry, you know you're my best mate, but sometimes….well, you tend to just charge into things, don't you? If something _feels_ right, you go all-in on it no matter what the consequences might be."

Harry was about to tell Ron that he had actually spent a _lot_ of time thinking about this and this wasn't at all a spur-of-the-moment thing, but decided he wasn't quite ready to tell his best friend that he had been fantasizing about dating his sister for months.

"You're more of a Gryffindor than all of us, truth be told," Ron continued, "and normally I have no problem with that, it's saved my life before, but you have to admit it's burned you. And I know you hate it when people treat you like you're made of glass, since you've already seen so much…."

Harry was furrowing his brow in confusion. He had been expecting a short, straightforward, "mistreat my sister and I'll hex you," not this long, nervous speech. He truly had no idea where Ron was going with this.

"...but it's precisely _because_ you've been through so much muck that people sometimes feel the need to make sure you don't get it even worse. I just know that on top of finding Horcruxes and killing You-Know-Who, you really don't need to be dealing with girl problems on top of that—"

"Wait, wait, _wait!_ " said Harry, putting up his hand. Something had clicked in his brain and his eyes had grown wide. There's no way Ron could possibly mean….

"Hold on, are you saying," said Harry slowly, leaning forward, "when you said 'let me be overprotective'….you meant being overprotective…. _of ME!?"_

Ron looked puzzled. "Uh….yeah? What, you think Ginny needs shielding from scheming boys who will take advantage of her wide-eyed, innocent naïveté? Please, you saw what she did to me after we walked in on her and Dean."

He paused for a second with a thousand-yard stare, like a soldier remembering a terrible war, before shaking his head clear.

"That kind of thing is what I'm worried about, that's what she does," Ron continued, "You piss me off, I'll just call you a git or hit you. You do something to anger _her,_ though, and she'll…. _destroy_ you, from the inside out, knowing just what to say to inflict maximum damage."

Harry hesitated, and then just shrugged. "Well then I suppose it's a good thing I'm not planning on angering her," he pointed out like it was obvious.

"Yeah, that's easy to say now," Ron scoffed, crossing his arms, "the only reason you're so blase is that you've never done anything to properly rile her up. Not yet, at least. But she's just as stubborn as you are. She always feels the need to prove herself, and she _hates_ it when people want to keep her safe while they themselves go off into danger, which of course you do _bloody constantly_. It's only a matter of time before you do something stupidly noble that she takes as an insult."

"...Wow, you've put some thought into this, haven't you?" said Harry dryly, "Well I'm touched, Ron, I had no idea you were capable of being this sweet and sentimental."

"Hey, I just don't want to get stuck with cleanup duty later," said Ron aggressively. He overcompensated by making his voice deeper and more masculine, trying to dispel the idea that he actually _cared_ and had _feelings._ "Like I said, you go all-in on everything, and you're already nearly all-in with her. You've had that dopey lovestruck look on your face all day. If she ditches you, it'll be _me_ picking up the pieces of what's left of you."

"Oh, _come on,_ Ron," Harry rolled his eyes, "don't you think it's a bit ridiculous that Ginny and I haven't even been together for 24 hours and you're already making plans for our breakup?"

Ron shrugged. "Well, that is one of the two possible outcomes of dating, innit?"

Harry sighed and rubbed his eyes. If Ron saw every budding relationship in terms of a choice between a catastrophic breakup or marriage, it was no wonder he was so scared to risk finally getting things started with Hermione.

"Look mate," Harry began carefully, "I appreciate it, but you don't have to worry. I _like_ that Ginny can be so brutal. It's—"

He had almost said "it's hot."

"—it's endearing. Sometimes, it's exactly what I need, you were there when she got me to stop shutting myself off last year, and she's been the only one to call me out if I'm up myself during Quidditch. There's so many damn mysteries in my life it's refreshing to know that if something's wrong, Ginny won't be afraid to tell me in no uncertain terms."

"No, I think you're wrong about that," said Ron urgently, sitting back down on his bed and leaning forward, "Ginny is _absolutely_ capable of playing mind games, you don't understand how manipulative she can be. There was this one time, when I was eight—" his voice choked up with emotion "—she used Fred's broomstick without telling him, and of course she crashed it, but then she acted like the innocent baby sister and convinced him that it was me! She managed to fool _the twins,_ Harry, at age seven! And they made my life _miserable_ for that! They turned the insides of my Martin Miggs comics into just pictures of spiders!"

Harry, to his credit, was trying his absolute best to not laugh at his friend's traumatic memory. "I'll take that under advisement, Ronald. Although I'm sure Fred and George will give me Hell in any case, if that makes you feel better."

"Okay, _fine,_ don't take this seriously," said Ron, throwing his hands up. "But you know what?" he wagged his finger at Harry suspiciously, "I'm still not convinced she didn't _intend_ for us to walk in on her and Dean snogging so you'd notice her— _no I'm serious!"_

Harry's resolve had broken and he was now laughing hard.

"No, no, think about it!" said Ron urgently, "You just _happen_ to catch her... _with_ her boyfriend, thereby being forced to acknowledge that she's someone who snogs, and is worthy of snogging. She's doing it in a 'hidden' passageway," he made quotes with his fingers, "so you won't think she's shameless or a hussie, but it's a "secret" passageway that she _knows_ that we know about and take all the time!"

"She is truly a diabolical mastermind," said Harry.

"Okay, just answer me one question," said Ron, " _Was_ that the moment you started to fancy her?"

Harry's smile faltered a bit. "It's….complicated."

"I _knew_ it," groaned Ron, rolling his eyes.

"No, it's not like that!" said Harry, "I don't fancy her just because I saw some other bloke snogging her. That might have been when I was forced to _realize_ it, but in hindsight it really started last summer, maybe even before the end of 5th year."

Ron looked away and grumbled, "Yeah, that was when she really started poking her nose in our business."

"' _Our'_ business?" Harry repeated skeptically.

Ron shifted uncomfortably. "Well….you know, it's always been the three of us, right? You, me, and Hermione. When we were kids, mum always basically treated Ginny and me like we were twins, there was hardly anything that was just _mine,_ that I didn't have to share with her. When I was with you two, that was something that was just mine. But...that's not gonna be the case anymore, is it? Everything's gonna change." He hung his head sadly.

Harry wasn't laughing anymore. He frowned somberly along with Ron, collecting his thoughts.

"Ron," he said quietly, "That was going to happen no matter who we started dating. You already started splitting your time between us and Lavender."

"Well yeah, but that's different."

"Because you never even intended that to last or be serious?" Harry asked pointedly.

"...Can you think of a way to phrase that that makes me sound less like a git?"

"My point is, Ron, that we were always going to have friends besides each other. I mean, Hermione doesn't want to be an auror, after we leave school she's going to work with a whole bunch of other people who she'll probably get close with."

Ron crossed his arms and still didn't look at him. "Yeah, I know, doesn't mean I have to like it," he mumbled.

They sat in silence for a while as Harry figured out what to say.

"And honestly Ron, even if _all_ of the things you're scared of happen, even if Ginny and I break up horribly and I'm a wreck afterward, it will be completely worth it _just_ for today. Today was the best day of my life. I truly didn't know it was even possible for someone to _be_ this happy. It almost feels wrong, like I'm not _supposed_ to be this happy, my life is supposed to be filled with nothing but tragedies and near-death experiences. The whole world just seems more—"

"Okay, okay, I get the picture, you sappy sod," said Ron, like he had just smelled something foul.

"And if I have to start splitting my time with someone, isn't it better that it's with someone who you have to spend holidays with anyway?"

"...Yeah, I suppose," muttered Ron, "Like I said, I don't fancy the idea of my best mate being my sister's ex-boyfriend, but her boyfriend? I _guess_ I could live with that, if I really had to. She was always gonna end up with _some_ prat, but I suppose you're slightly less of a prat than most. Slightly."

Harry was smiling again. "We all appreciate your sacrifice and understanding, Ronald."

They lapsed into silence again, with nothing more to say. Eventually, they stood up at the same time to head back downstairs.

"You know, maybe you could return the favor," said Harry, "When you start something that you actually _do_ want to last, have it be with a girl I already get on with."

Ron stiffened and looked at Harry suspiciously. "What are you talking about?"

Harry shrugged. "Nothing, never mind," and opened the door.


	2. Chapter 2

She was going to kill him.

After all of the patronizing, pig-headed nonsense she had put up with her entire life, she was finally going to kill him.

Ginny seethed with clenched fists at the bathroom window as she looked down into the yard, where she saw Ron berating a despondent-looking Harry, no doubt blaming _him_ for the kiss he and Ginny had just shared in her bedroom, assuming Ginny had just innocently invited Harry into her bedroom to talk, and he had decided to move in on her.

Because, of course, _she_ couldn’t make a decision like that for herself, _she_ was just the helpless baby sister just waiting to be taken advantage of by the scary boys in her life, and if she got false hope into her empty little head she would just become hysterical!

She fingered her wand in her pocket, deciding what hex to release on her brother. How did he have the damn nerve to _still_ think he had any say-so in who she kissed? It wasn’t a requirement to officially be boyfriend and girlfriend to do that! She had half a mind to throw her plan out the window and storm out into the yard herself and snog the living daylights out of Harry just to prove a point. 

She saw Ron turn and head back into the house, leaving Harry looking shame-faced and Hermione saying no doubt kind and sympathetic words to him.

She spun around and stormed out of the bathroom, her mind filled with all kinds of ideas for retribution. She stomped down the stairs, making as much noise as she could, when she saw a crown of red hair appear up the stairs.

Ginny expected Ron to have a self-satisfied look on his face, proud of himself for being a “good” big brother. She was surprised and her step faltered a bit when she saw him directing a scowl at her every bit as intense as the one she was wearing. However, after just a moment, his insolence made her more furious than ever and prepared herself to lay into him, but when they met in front of her bedroom door he opened it and shoved her inside before she could get a word in.

She flinched away from him and spun around to shout in his face.

“What the hell are you doing—”

“What the hell are _you_ doing!?” he growled back at her, “Doesn’t he have enough to worry about?”

“I — what?” stammered Ginny, her glare falling.

“Don’t play stupid, Ginny, you expect me to believe that you two sucking each other’s faces was _his_ idea?”

“Well you were certainly _acting_ like it, tough guy,” scoffed Ginny, crossing her arms.

“Yeah, that’s what I told him, because he’d never listen to me if the point was just protecting himself. When it comes to his own well-being, the prat is a glutton for punishment, but turn it into a chance to shield _you_ from something, and well, I think I’ve managed to keep him away from you. Or, to be more accurate, to keep _you_ away from _him._

Ginny didn’t know to be enraged or impressed. “Clearly, the rest of us are no match for your mind games, oh genius one,” she said scathingly.

Ron shrugged, still glowering at her. “What can I say? Maybe you’ve taught me something.”

Ginny felt a surge of renewed rage. “I am NOT some manipulative harpy, you dungbomb! I just wanted to give him something so that he wouldn’t forget me while you three are off doing whatever the hell you’re doing!”

“Oh _come on!”_ Ron groaned, rolling his eyes, “Am I supposed to believe that _you_ really believe that? He’s not going to ‘forget’ you, you dumb bint, _the poor sod’s in love with you!”_

“You—!” Ginny began, but her throat seized up and her stomach did a somersault. She resisted the urge to abandon the fight and demand he elaborate.

“He’s going to be miserable every day we’re gone,” Ron continued, “and you groping him every chance you get is just going to make it worse later!”

“Shut up, just SHUT UP! This is none of your business!” she screamed in his face, her eyes stinging with tears. She desperately clung to her anger at him to distract from the guilt welling up in her at the idea that she may have hurt Harry.

“I know what you’re _really_ getting at!” he shouted back, not backing down from her, “You think that if you bat your eyelashes at him enough then he’ll give in and take you with us!”

Ginny’s eyes widened and she spun around to face her window so Ron wouldn’t see the

guilty look on her face, but she knew he wasn’t fooled.

“So what?” she tried to say with conviction, “We both know Harry’s being stupid. Everyone knows we dated, we can’t un-do that, and the only reason Hogwarts was ever safe was Dumbledore was there. With him gone—”

“Maybe it’s not all about _you,_ did you think about that? We’re going to have enough to worry about without having to look after you!”

That was it. The absolute worst thing he could have said. She spun back around to face him and completely lost control of her temper.

“I DO NOT NEED LOOKING AFTER!” she shrieked, “For the last _bloody_ time, I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself!”

“How, Ginny!? You still have the Trace!”

Ginny opened her mouth to yell at him more, stopped, then shut it again.

“A ha ha! Hermione’s not the only one who can think of things!” said Ron, pointing a finger to his head and looking quite impressed with himself, “I’m good for more than just chess and sarcasm, you know.”

“I can...still take care of myself….” said Ginny, but she didn’t even sound convincing to herself. She felt herself blush in embarrassment. She was furious with herself for being so stupid.

Ron rolled his eyes. “Okay, I’ll humor you and assume you _can_ fight off Death Eaters without using magic. Even so, if you’re with us, then Harry will be unwilling to actually _do_ anything because he’d never be able to put you in danger. All we’d be doing is staying on the run. Hermione and I are _still_ fighting with him every day to not leave us behind, so leading _you_ into certain death is out of the question.”

As Ron spoke, his voice grew quieter and it lost its venom. By the time he finished, he was being downright gentle. Ginny also found that she couldn’t be angry with him anymore. He had said the very thing that she had been trying her hardest not to think about.

_Into certain death._

Them leaving her behind didn’t just mean that she would be stuck out of the way, letting other people fight for her like she needed protecting.

It also meant this might be the last time she spoke with Ron. She might never get another chance to yell at his stupid face.

“Listen to me, you git,” Ginny said sternly, stepping forward and pointing a finger at him, “I’ll back off _only_ if you cut it out with that ‘certain death’ nonsense. And not just for Harry, don’t let your insecurities and overprotective streak for him and Hermione tell you to just throw yourself in front of a curse. I better not hear any stories of heroic sacrifice when this is all over.”

“I’ll try my best to be my usual selfish self,” said Ron, “After all, with Percy gone, I’m this family’s remaining punching bag. Without me, the five of you will tear each other apart.”

“That’s not funny,” said Ginny.

“Yeah, sorry,” Ron said somberly. “For the record, I get it. Honestly, I really don’t envy you. Running into trouble I can handle, but doing _nothing?_ Not knowing what to do or what’s going on? I wouldn’t be able to deal with that either.”

“Well, I never said I would do _nothing,_ ” Ginny smirked, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I have a feeling the DA will have our hands full this year.”

Ron’s eyes filled with fear. “ _No!_ Ginny, I don’t know who’s going to be running Hogwarts, but with the Ministry so infiltrated it can’t be good. Don’t risk your neck doing something….I don’t know, something that Harry would do.”

Ginny crossed her arms and shook her head. “No, I can’t promise that. I’m not talking about taking down You-Know-Who from the common room, but there will still be people who need protecting. I’m not going to spout my mouth off to whatever stooge the Ministry puts there, like Harry, but I’m not going to do nothing. I realize I can’t be there for whatever it is you three are doing, but I can’t look the other way while bad things are happening right in front of me.”

Ron gave an exasperated sigh and rubbed his eyes. “Well, you two are certainly bloody made for each other. Will you at least promise to not do anything that _Fred and George_ would do?”

“I would be willing to make such a compromise,” said Ginny, smiling now.

They stood in silence for several moments, with nothing left to say. Just the knowledge of what was coming, and the uncertainty if they would both make it through it. Eventually, she surprised him by pulling him into a tight hug.

“Okay, no need to get sappy,” said Ron, hugging her back. “Come on, let’s head back downstairs. Just as long as you can behave yourself.”

Ginny quirked an eyebrow at him as she opened the door. “You know, you really shouldn’t be so sure that it’s _me_ who can’t keep my hands off of _him.”_

Ron groaned. He had been hoping the conversation wouldn’t loop back around to this. “Yes, I am aware that Harry is a bloke like the rest of us. But he can say no to the bloody Imperius Curse, so I’m pretty sure he can resist whatever feminine wiles you throw at him.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that,” said Ginny. “You haven’t seen my bridesmaid’s dress. The Imperius is _nothing_ compared to that neckline.”

Ron nearly cringed out of his skin. “Did I _really_ need to hear that!?” he called after her as she walked laughing down the stairs.


	3. Chapter 3

Ginny buried her face into her pillow and willed with all her might to go to sleep again. She had no idea how long she had been unconscious, but it wasn't long enough. As long as she was in bed, she could try to convince herself that the last day had been a bad dream, a horrible version of what _actually_ happened. She tried to tell herself that Voldemort was really dead, they really had reunited with Percy, Harry really had returned to her, but all the other things were a nightmare. Colin, Lupin, and Tonks were all still alive.

And she still had six brothers.

But due to her dry mouth and growling stomach, a return to sleep eluded her, and she reluctantly opened her eyes.

Ginny looked around and found herself alone in the first year boy's dormitory, with the late afternoon sun coming in through the west window. She had crashed here because it was the only room in Gryffindor tower completely empty, with survivors still hanging about. She had slept for most of the day, since the battle had ended that morning. She winced at her bruises as she sat up, and was surprised that in spite of the gaping hole she felt in her chest and the knowledge her family would never be the same, she didn't start crying. She supposed she had run out of tears.

She didn't react as she heard a knock on the door behind her. A few seconds later, she heard it slowly open and footsteps approach the bed.

"Er — glad you're awake," said Ron, and Ginny could tell he was shifting his weight nervously.

" _Hmm,"_ she just grunted in response.

"It's getting pretty late," he continued, "When you're ready, we can all head home."

"Okay," she said dully. She was distantly skeptical of referring to the Burrow as "home," since it would never house all the Weasleys again, but it didn't actively upset her. Everything just felt numb.

"But, before we go, I was hoping to have a word with you," said Ron, walking around and sitting down on the bed opposite her. Ginny couldn't even work up the energy to be curious about what he could possibly need to say right now. She guessed he might want to chastise her for coming back to the battle despite being underage, but she found she didn't even care about the patronization and just waited for it to wash over her.

But when he spoke, it was about something so unexpected it jolted her out of her fog.

"Erm, I suppose now that everything's over," said Ron quietly, looking at his knees, "you might be thinking about…. _resuming_ things with Harry." And for the first time since she woke up, Ginny actually felt something.

Her face flushed with heat and she determinedly furrowed her brow at him, to keep her face from lighting up with hope. The happiness she felt at Harry returning was intrinsically linked with guilt at feeling said happiness, when so many people had lost so much.

"That is none of your business," she told him, looking away and crossing her arms.

"It absolutely is my business," said Ron, "This family is going to be dealing with enough in the next few months without navigating any fallout between you two. So I just have to tell you: before you get involved with him again, be absolutely sure about it."

She felt a flash of fury towards him that she clung to. Anger was straightforward. Anger was what seemed appropriate right now.

"What do you mean ' _be sure?'_ " she hissed incredulously, "Of course we're going to get back together. We never _actually_ broke up in the first place, it was all for show. Why would I not be sure about being with him?"

"Well…." Ron nervously rubbed the back of his neck, like he always did when he was about to say something that he knew would tick her off. "I mean, he did leave. I know we talked about that last summer, but I also know how much you hate being left out."

"I'm not a child, Ronald," Ginny said bitterly, "I might not have agreed that it was necessary to push me away, but don't imply that I'm so immature that I would deny myself what we've been fighting for just to get back at him."

"Well….okay, but also…." Ron grimaced and steeled himself, "it would be understandable if….you were a bit resentful. If you started thinking that if Harry had never come here, then…" his voice choked up "...then Fred would still be—"

"How _dare_ you!?" she shouted at him, springing to her feet, "Harry would have done anything to keep the rest of us safe!" Her eyes stung as those tears finally decided to show up. "Even if the fight happened somewhere else, he would have been there to help, we _all_ would have! How could you possibly think—"

"I _don't_ think," he cut her off, raising a hand, "I didn't say that I thought that, I said that it would be understandable to think that. None of us are thinking straight right now, Ginny, and finding someone to blame might make it feel better. Do not stand there and act like you're in your right mind, because I bloody well know that I'm not." His voice choked up as his own eyes started glistening. "I'm not accusing you of anything, I just want you to take a moment and make sure you've got no feelings like that. Because if…."

He gave a heavy sigh and rubbed his eyes. He stood up and walked to the window, clearly trying to find the words that wouldn't make things worse.

"If you tell him now that you can't go back to the way things were, I think he could live with that. I think half of him is expecting it. Right now, the door is already shut. But if you open that door, but then in two months change your mind, and find that you can't forget about…..everything? If he actually gets everything he wants, but then it gets yanked away from him again? I honestly don't know what that would do to him."

Hot tears were streaming down Ginny's face now. It wasn't because she believed there was any chance of what Ron was afraid of actually happening, but all this talk about Harry bracing himself for the worst made her want to track him down and squeeze him until there was no doubt in his mind that she was with him for the long haul.

Ron turned back to face her. "Harry's been through enough to break anybody, and if he gets abandoned again, it just might."

Ginny jerked out of her mood and frowned at what he said. "What do you mean 'abandoned again?' None of us abandoned him, he was the one who decided to go off on his own to…."

She trailed off as she saw Ron blush and gulp loudly.

"I mean…" he muttered, looking away, "While we were gone, I did something really stupid. I was a complete prat, so I'm just saying he can only handle one prat Weasley right now."

"...What happened?" Ginny asked tentatively after a moment of silence.

"Please don't ask me that, Ginny," Ron said, wincing, "I promise I'll tell you everything later, I'm just not up for angering anyone right now."

Ginny just nodded. She was once again drained after her outburst, and found she wasn't up for being angry with him right then.

"You know, whatever you did," she said quietly, "I'm sure Harry is still glad to have you. Not all best mates would be willing to chew out their own family to protect him.

Ron scoffed and shook his head. "Well I don't know about that. And for the record, I have indeed been absolutely terrified during these conversations, and not because you're my sister. I'm just glad my bogeys are still wingless right now."

Ginny couldn't stop herself from smiling at how Ron didn't even try to deny that he was feeling protective of Harry, with any of the expected deflections to pretend he didn't actually care.

They lapsed into a silence that was much more comfortable than the one Ginny woke up to.

"Well…." Ron finally said, "In any case, the one thing you can't do is stay in this room forever. Eventually, the little midgets will want it back."

Ginny gave a weak smile, looking around the room one last time. "Just think, in just a few months there's going to be first-year muggle-borns sleeping here who had never even heard of this war. Maybe even the worst things can fade eventually."

"Yeah. Maybe," said Ron.

He opened the door for her and they headed down the stairs to rejoin their family.


End file.
